the glory and the horror

Cynicism is one step away from paralysis.

- Ravi Zacharias

What sort of future are we trying to give our children?

Is this good enough? 2 years. Otherwise, it appears the baby was developmentally normal. I am personally thankful that she fought for her child. This is one of those times when technology can, does, and ought to be used to provide a life that would otherwise have been impossible.

Thank you for reading, and may you and your families be blessed with the peace of Christ.

So there is a quite well-known and vocal minority in certain circles which advocate non-vaccinations for their children, and in such circles, the children are largely protected from those diseases by herd immunity – namely that enough people around them are vaccinated such that they don’t come into contact with that disease or the pathogen that causes it.

However, a recent investigation of the measles outbreak in the midwest last year has shown why that is no longer going to be sufficient. In a world where travel to various countries is increasingly more common, more and more people will be going to other locales, be exposed to diseases and pathogens that they would otherwise not see at home, and bring it back with them on the plane. This is a well-known phenomenon, and has even been postulated as an explanation for how the West Nile Virus came across the Atlantic (either a person or a mosquito in the plane). Someone goes to Romania, brings over the measles virus, and exposes an unvaccinated community to the virus. Relatively speaking, measles isn’t all that dangerous, but it is virulent, in that it can spread rapidly, and it definitely can cause a good amount of morbidity.

That said, please vaccinate your children. The relative risk of a bad reaction to a vaccine is very small, although it does exist, and as people travel more and more, the likelihood of exposure to measles goes up. Even if the unvaccinated themselves do not travel, as this example shows, they will meet people who will have recently traveled, and will still need to be protected from such diseases.

So somehow, in the last month of so, we’ve been able to see a BUNCH of movies, both at home and in the theater. We saw Stranger Than Fiction the weekend it came out, and that was well worth it. The story is engaging, and you want to know how it ends. The actors do a wonderful job, quirky and witty, believable and with depth of feeling. We saw Eragon this past weekend, which was, of course, not as fun and interesting as the book, but decent still. We also saw The Pursuit of Happyness, which is definitely the feel-good movie of the season. Will Smith does a phenomenal job as a dad who is just trying to do right by his son. It doesn’t hurt that it’s actually his own son that he’s acting with, either.

If I had to rank them, I’d say go see Stranger Than Fiction first (rent or theater). Only see Eragon if you liked the book. Not that great as a stand-alone movie. Pursuit of Happyness is kinda sappy, but not overwhelmingly saccharine. Good date movie, or family movie. Just a tiny bit of bad language. Great discussion piece, too. Lots to be talked about in terms of balancing work and family, and doing what it takes to get things done.

I also got Kathleen Something the Lord Made for Christmas, and we got to watch it in CA with my siblings and sister’s boyfriend, who is in his first year in medical school. It’s about a revolutionary surgery, the very first heart surgery, also the very first pediatric heart surgery, and also the very first treatment for babies with cyanotic congenital birth defects, all in one procedure. It stars Alan Rickman (aka Prof. Snape to most people who see movies nowadays) and Mos Def (aka as Ford Prefect to many moviegoers) as the two main characters. It’s also another feel-good movie in one sense, and quite sobering and frustrating in another, especially as you see race relations as it plays out in medicine not-so-long ago, and how in medical research, credit doesn’t always go where credit is due. HBO makes some quality movies and mini-series. We’ve already watched it twice.

I wonder what Dr. Cooley thinks of his character in that movie. He only has but 1-2 lines, but they chose them wisely.

We just got back from celebrating an early Christmas with my folks in California. It was nice to be with the family again, and my brother and sister were both able to join us for at least a couple days in there. Unfortunately, the time went too quickly. We were able to throw together some good times eating, shopping, and just goofing around the house. It reminds me so much of when I was growing up, and when we used to joke and banter around the dinner table, or when we’d all be home from college and hearing about how my sister was growing up so quickly (she’s 6 years younger than I am, so she was in the throes of puberty while I was in college).

It just all went by too fast. We didn’t get to slow down much, even, because we were trying to see people, do things, go out, etc. We didn’t even get to see all the people we wanted to see (sorry Liz, Jolly, Ben, and others!).

I try to plug this every year, and this year is no different. If you’re looking for something unique and special to give to someone, check out World Vision’s Gift Catalog. It’s a great way to be thoughtful and creative in getting a gift for someone, especially if that someone is hard to shop for, and appreciates a good charity. World Vision is one of the world’s leading Christian relief and development agencies, and I have worked with them for years, and given gifts out of the gift catalog for years as well. Check it out!